Companys Rights To Prohibit Employees From Smoking Off The Job Essay

Companys Rights To Prohibit Employees From Smoking Off The Job - Essay Example Employees are often charged high insurance premiums that might also act as a motivator for refraining from smoking (Hill, 2006, pp.1-3). Ban in smoking through laws has been found to reduce the passive smoking to a great extent. Improvement in health conditions of such employees has been obtained. The support for such bans has shown to increase (Callinan, Clarke, Doherty & Kelleher, 2010, p.2). A change in the smoking behavior is likely when workplaces bring in limitations on smoking. Employees tend to smoke less and many employees may even quit smoking. Smokers who truly try to quit smoking have actually been found to be more successful than others (Burns, Shanks, Major, Gower & Shopland, n.d., p.104). Prohibiting smoking within organizations is necessary and hence supportive to my views. It can be understood that people who do not smoke would suffer from passive smoking if others smoke within an office. Particularly since an organization is a closed area, it would be more suffering for the non-smokers. Hence smoking needs to be prohibited within the working areas. Moreover, if employees are not allowed to smoke in their workplaces, this might gradually help them to lessen their habits of smoking which is undeniably better for their health. Thus, considering both the issues of the smokers’ health as well as the sufferings of non-smokers from passive smoking, it seems to me that prohibition of smoking in workplaces should be highly supported and followed in all organizations. The Cons: If the case of Ford Meter Box can be considered there are two issues that arise- one being the issue of freedom, and the other being the issue of privacy. The ban in smoking creates personal issue by impeding the freedom of an employee. The private issue arises when the employee needs to give a nicotine test. Whether a company can intrude into the privacy of an employee raises matters of serious concern. Arguments in support of Ford may find the cost factors significant enough to conduct such tests (Hooker, 2003, pp.11-12). The greater problems arise when companies try to regulate the smoking of their employees even at their residences. For example, â€Å"in Indiana, an employee was fired because she smoked cigarettes in her own home† (ACLU Briefing Paper Number 12, n.d.). Several federal and state laws exist that protect the rights of the employees